


you are the light that keeps out the darkness

by galaxy_of_pi



Series: a light in the dark [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has the Brain Cell (Julie and The Phantoms), Cuddling, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Hugs, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Oblivious Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), ahaha i love that that is a tag, just referenced and talked about not described, mentioned child abuse and injuries and stuff but nothing is described, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxy_of_pi/pseuds/galaxy_of_pi
Summary: Reggie knew Luke didn't like him in the same way. He knew that. Each time that he hugged Luke, or smiled at him, or shared a mic, it hurt, but he would rather have Luke as a friend than not at all.Luke wished that Reggie would like him, but Reggie was too good for him. He would never love him in the same way, but Luke just couldn't stop hugging him or hanging out with him whenever he could.Alex wished that his friends were less oblivious.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: a light in the dark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076333
Comments: 5
Kudos: 129





	you are the light that keeps out the darkness

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first jatp fluffy or happy fic, so i hope its okay!
> 
> there aren't really warnings for this, there is child abuse regarding reggie's backstory mentioned, but not explicitly described, death mention of when they died in the first sentence but not descriptive or anything
> 
> my next spies are forever fic/ update should be coming hopefully in the next few days!
> 
> check out my tumblr @spies-always-die !
> 
> please comment!

Going from dying in the back of an ambulance, seeing your two best friends of over six years begging for you to stay awake, seeing the panic on their faces as your eyes close, and then suddenly appearing twenty five years later in your studio would be somewhat of a shock for anyone. Realizing that yes, you had actually died and then become part of a ghost band with someone still alive, then almost killed by an insane homicidal ghost, and then somehow made temporarily corporeal would also mess someone up. 

Reggie hadn’t known much about how the afterlife and how being a ghost worked, but if he would have had to guess he would have thought that he would have left behind all the awful memories from his life and everything that went along with it; the panic attacks, the fear of people shouting, the curdling dread that built up when his thoughts became too much. Unfortunately, though, none of that was left behind. He was just as he was when he was alive, minus the ability to touch most people. And generally, he wouldn’t have even cared that he couldn’t touch anyone. In another time, it would have felt like a blessing. 

Having Alex and Luke the only ones who could touch him-- and  _ no _ , he wasn’t especially elated that having so few people to get cuddles or physical contact with made Luke even more likely to give out hugs and casual touches-- was wonderful, but he wished Julie, and perhaps Ray or Carlos could touch him. Not being afraid of a father figure was pretty foreign to him, but something about Ray made him feel like maybe blood families could actually be decent. 

Which of course just brought up the fact that what _ went so wrong with his family?  _ Which, then of course led to the only obvious reason. He was what was wrong with his family. Not for the first time, he wondered what could have happened to his family. 

Reggie had had a younger sister who was only ten when he died, and as much as he wanted to know if she was okay, how she was doing, and if she hated him for leaving her behind when he died, he was afraid of what he’d find. She was alive; he had seen that much the one time he had been brave enough to type her name into “the google”, or whatever Julie called it, but couldn’t bring himself to look up where she lived. Couldn’t make himself get into a position where he’d have no excuse not to find her. Couldn’t bear going and finding her only to see her life falling apart, or realize that she had hated him for dying. 

What if she--

“Reggie?” Reggie was pulled out of his thoughts that had been getting progressively darker and turned to see Luke. He smiled to himself a little, his best friend-- because at the end of the day, what’s what they were and would probably always stay unfortunately-- never failed to light up the room. 

“Yeah?”

“You alright?” 

Reggie didn’t meet Luke’s eyes, knowing he was probably one of the worst liars around. “I’m fine.”

“You definitely sound fine.” Reggie glanced at his friend, seeing the disbelieving look in his eyes, and then continuing to not meet his gaze. Luke was probably the only one who could, if they met eyes once, read him perfectly.

“Good. Because I am fine.”

He could hear the soft sigh, and Luke wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in to his side. “You can talk to me about anything, Reggie. Please.”

Reggie hesitated, tempted for one minute to come clean, tell Luke about everything with his sister, how scared he was at what could have happened to her, because as much as Luke and Alex knew about Reggie’s parents, he had always toned it down, tried to make it better than what it was. He had hidden bruises and injuries, pretended to be sick so that they wouldn’t see him when he was too injured, and passed off cuts as accidents, always trying to avoid the pity that he knew they would have if his facade of always being happy and upbeat fell completely away. There were times it dropped, of course, but even then he was scared to actually tell them what his parents were like. He felt he couldn’t tell them because he was too afraid in the end that if they saw how broken he could be, that everything would change. Logically, he knew they wouldn't leave him. Just as in life, it would be him, Luke and Alex together forever in death. Emotionally, it was hard.

But then he pasted a smile on his face. “I know. I’m okay, really. Just thinking about my sister. If she’s okay.”

He could see that Luke knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but he let it slide, instead pulling Reggie in and wrapping his arms around him, letting Reggie’s face fall into his chest, gently combing his hand through his hair, and smiling a little as Reggie struggled halfheartedly before giving in to the inevitable and snuggling in. 

He could feel himself drifting off and fought it for a few minutes, before letting himself fall into a light sleep, lulled by Luke humming softly and still carding his hand through his hair. 

He was woken about an hour later by soft and urgent whispers from the corner. He raised his head, his hair a messy disaster and eyes still blurry with sleep to see Alex and Julie, both suddenly looking way too innocent while trying to hide smiles.

“S’going on?”

Alex fought back a smile. “You comfy?” 

Reggie suddenly realized that he was still cuddling with Luke, both squeezed onto the small couch, his head on Luke’s chest and Luke’s head buried in his hair. He tried to flail and get up, but was pulled immediately down as Luke’s arms tightened around him and he rolled over, laying partially on top of him and cuddling even closer. Reggie could feel himself blushing and refused to meet Alex’s way too knowing look, giving in to Luke and letting him wrap himself around him in his sleep.

He suddenly realized that  _ oh no Julie is seeing this what will she think _ and, even knowing it was useless, tried to move, but felt another body fall down on him and hug him as Alex fell onto the couch, smiling at him as he wrapped his arm around Reggie’s waist, and smiling. “I would say you can’t get better than cuddles with both of us, but I think that you’re perfectly happy with just Luke cuddles.”

Reggie blushed even darker, but couldn’t move his hand to hit Alex with a pillow, because, yet again, he found himself trapped in Luke’s koala hug. “Shut up.”

“You’re not very subtle.” 

Reggie froze. “Does Luke know?”

“He only doesn’t because he’s just as dense and oblivious as you.”

“What do you mean, as oblivious as me? I’m not oblivious.”

He could see Alex close his eyes in exasperation, hitting his head against the cushions and exchanging a glance that held some kind of significance with Julie. “You’re not-- okay. Okay.”

“What?” Reggie turned his head and met Alex’s eyes, but his friend sighed. 

“Just tell him.”

Reggie’s eyes widened. “Why would I tell him? I can’t ruin our friendship and he-- he’ll--”

Alex closed his eyes. “He’ll probably kiss you and tell you he’s in love with you just as you’re in love with him. Just--” Alex paused. He had put up with almost three years now of them making heart eyes at each other. “You just need to tell him. It’ll be okay, promise.”

“What will be okay?” They both jumped at Luke’s voice, freezing as they saw that his eyes were open. Alex smiled a little at the blush on both Luke and Reggie’s cheeks at how close their faces were, but then he saw the growing panic in Reggie’s eyes and pleaded with any god in existence that Reggie wouldn’t--

Reggie poofed out, leaving Luke staring with an expression between surprised and glazed over. 

Alex hit his head on the armrest of the couch, groaning in frustration. After two and a half years of non stop pining from both of them, two years before their death and now six months after they came back, he was just hoping that somehow they could get themselves figured out so that the constant heart eyes and staring could just stop and he could finally have some peace. He had always thought it had been incredibly obvious how lovesick they both were, but when Julie came to him only a day after they formed the band and asked him about when Luke and Reggie had started dating because they “both bickered like an old married couple and flirted and interacted like an engaged or newly married couple in their honeymoon phase”, it was confirmed that literally everyone knew they were in love with each other except for the two of them.

And now Reggie had vanished, probably embarrassed or freaking out his face about being inches away from Luke’s, like they didn’t sing like that at every rehearsal. 

“What happened?” Luke sat up, looking both bleary and confused. “Is Reggie okay?”

Alex sighed, sitting up and resolving to make sure that they figured this out today, because his patience had long run out and because after everything they had both been through, they deserved to finally have what they had both wanted for years now. 

“I’ll be back.” He ignored Luke’s confused expression and poofed out, heading to where he knew Reggie would be.

Reggie was standing at the edge of the ocean, staring across the sparkling grey waves, and didn’t notice Alex’s approach until he was just a few feet away.

“Hey.” Reggie jumped a little, but didn’t react otherwise, even when Alex came up next to him and watched him carefully. “What’s up?”

Reggie looked away, scuffing his boots along the sand. “Nothing.”

Alex deadpanned. “That was likely one of the worst lies that you’ve ever told me, and that’s saying something.”

Reggie still refused to meet his eye. “It’s stupid.”

“Reg, if it bothers you, it isn’t stupid.”

Reggie turned towards him slowly and then took a few quick steps, leaning his head on Alex’s shoulder and hugging him tightly.

Alex wrapped his arms around Reggie and hugged him back, waiting for his friend to talk.

“He just-- he won’t like me. And I know that. There’s something with Julie-- but even besides that, he just wouldn’t like me, but I really like him and I realized that I love being near him and hugging him and holding his hand, and I was then super grateful that you guys are my family-- but then I was thinking I wished I could hug Julie or talk to Ray-- and then I was wondering how those kinds of families can love each other and why mine couldn’t-- and then I thought that it was because I was the reason why my family couldn’t love each other-- and then I don’t know what happened with my sister and that brought me back to Luke being the one who was there for me and how I love him and I wish he could love me back and--”

His words died into choked sobs as he leaned back into Alex, who rubbed his back softly before speaking.

“First, we are your family. Me, Luke, Julie, Flynn, and Willie all love you. Carlos looks up to you, and I know that when we tell Ray that there are ghosts living in his house and playing in Julie’s band, he’ll love you too. Your parents had problems that weren’t related to you, and they never should have hurt you. And your sister? She looked up to you, and truly loved you. I don’t think she could hate you. And with Luke? Reggie, you need to talk to him.”

Reggie looked up, looking panicked. “I can’t talk to him.”

“You need to.”

“No-- if I don’t tell him then he’ll continue spending time with me and won’t be awkward or anything and we’ll still be best friends. I can’t lose him--”

Alex cut him off firmly. “Luke loves you, and even if all the signs are wrong and he doesn’t love you romantically, you’re his best friend in the world, and he won’t leave you. Neither of us will. Ever.”

He could feel that Reggie’s breathing was still shaky, and hugged him a little tighter. “Breathe, Reggie. Relax. You’re okay.”

He could feel Reggie slowly relax into his hold, and there was a long pause before he finally spoke. “I’m just afraid.”

“I know. And that’s okay, but this is Luke. He loves you, and you’ll find the right way to love each other and find the right way to be family, whether romantically or platonically.”

He could feel Reggie starting to calm down and finally released him, stepping back. “You’ll be okay.”

Reggie glanced up. “When do I have to talk to him?”

Alex paused. Luke was probably still in the studio, and the sooner that Reggie had the talk with him, the less likely it would be that he backed out.

“Right now.”

“Whoa, now?”   
Alex reached forwards, grabbing Reggie’s arm and starting to walk back towards the studio before remembering it would be easier just to poof there. “Yep. We’re figuring this out now, and no backing out or I’ll show Julie and Luke the pictures that I have from some of your earlier Halloweens and when you started playing bass and decided to take on the whole punk aesthetic.”

He saw Reggie blush a bright red. “How did you- how--”

“Your sister gave them to me when we were sixteen.” He smirked at the deep blush on Reggie’s face, and ignoring his spluttering, poofed them to the studio, opened the door, saw Luke strumming his guitar and pushed Reggie in, winking at him obnoxiously before slamming the door shut and locking it.

Then he realized that either of them could just poof out and decided that the whole locking them in to force them to figure out their feelings thing was to satisfy what he had wanted to do to them back when he first noticed their feelings back in ‘93. It was for the satisfaction and fun of locking his friends in, not because it would actually force either to stay.

Reggie smiled nervously as Luke looked up, his expression morphing from confusion to worry, as he stood up, and faced him awkwardly.

“Are you okay?”

Reggie nodded, probably a few too many times. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Luke nodded as well and looked away, not sure how to resolve the nervous energy. Reggie fiddled with the sleeves of his flannel, wanting to poof away, but knowing that he had to just tell him and get it out.

“I like you.” Shoot! He froze, cursing at himself for saying it straight out. That wasn’t how he meant to say it. He saw Luke’s head shoot up, saw the shock in his eyes, and mentally debated if he could poof away and not have Alex re-murder him and then bring him back to actually finish the conversation with Luke. 

“You-- what?” 

“I sneezed.” Reggie wanted to facepalm, desperately needed to do something or get away somehow. Seriously? Pretending that it was an “achoo” sound was the best he could come up with?

Luke stepped a little closer, his thoughts whirling frantically. “You like me?”

Reggie almost denied it, almost let it go, but just decided to get it over with. He was used to rejection and losing people, and even though losing Luke would probably be the worst thing to ever happen to him, he could deal with it. “Yeah. I-- It started back in ‘93 or something. And I know you have something with Julie and I don’t want to get in the way-- but I just needed to tell you ‘cause it kind of stopped being a crush a bit ago and I’m a little in love with you? And yeah. Sorry.”

Luke blinked. And then stared at Reggie for a minute. And then blinked again. The silence was almost unbearable when he finally spoke. “I like you too, idiot. I’ve been a little in love with you since ‘92 or ‘93.”

Reggie froze, looking up. “Are you joking? I’m okay if you don’t like me, I didn’t think you would, and it’s okay, really--”

Luke stepped closer, walking slowly until they were toe to toe as Reggie rambled. He could hear Reggie’s breath hitch a little and leaned in. “This is not a joke or anything. I love how you play bass, how you make jokes to lighten the tension, how you choose to be positive and kind even when the whole world has hurt you. I love how you’re compassionate, and have so much love for your family. And that’s only a few of the reasons why I love you.”

Luke reached out tentatively and touched his hand, smiling as Reggie carefully tangled their fingers together before looking up to meet Luke’s eyes. They were inches apart.

He could feel them both leaning in, but Luke paused right before their lips touched. “Is this okay?”

He could feel himself starting to smile as he responded, feeling lighter than he had in years. “Yeah.”

Luke leaned in and their lips finally connected. It was soft and chaste, and they did a few more, until they were both smiling and laughing more than they were kissing, and hugged each other tightly. He could feel himself starting to cry, but just held Luke tighter. He buried his face in Luke’s shoulder and smiled a little to himself. He felt like nothing could ruin the absolute euphoria and happiness that he was feeling, even when Alex popped in and gave a small cheer, hugging them both before giving another overexaggerated wink and poofing back out.

They would have problems, Reggie knew. He still needed to find his sister, and find closure with his parents. He had problems with worrying that his family would leave him, but as Luke kissed him again and pulled him onto the couch, still hugging him tightly and throwing a leg over him, burying his face in Reggie’s hair, he knew that they would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> the happy face at the end doesn't really work when it isn't an angsty or sad ending, so i'm just going to say i hope you enjoyed, and please comment!
> 
> also, please let me know if you're interested in hearing more in this series maybe with alex watching them pining or when reggie looks for his family!


End file.
